>>6016342Problem: you have no idea where to begin.
Solution: try a bunch of stuff and see what sticks.
You've played video games before, but not a lot of them caught your attention for very long. They're fun to play with Etsy and the kids, but solo games often make you feel like you could be doing something better with your time. Reading? You've done a lot of reading for your research, and you're not sure if you'd be able to enjoy books with how obsessed you are with reading between the lines. No, sports maybe? But what kind?
You place down a playing card as you try to organize your thoughts. You like to have something to do when you think, and solitaire is a good time waster. Actually...
You look at the card, for some reason it evokes a weird feeling, the same kind of feeling you have when trying to think of a new hobby. This feeling that it's something that you should enjoy, but don't for some reason. You didn't mind books before, you didn't mind games, so what happened? Are you just old?
Or was the person that liked those someone else entirely?
If someone asked you what you liked beyond your family, what would you answer?
A foreign memory answers for you.
---
Mary puts down a royal flush, <span class="mu-i">again</span> and you sigh as you push a few dozen chips towards her. This would've been multiple months worth of work in your old job, and even though money's no longer a problem, it still makes you squirm a little.
"Pa-chink!" She stacks the chips ever higher, and winks at you. "Gee, you know what happens when you run out, right? You're not doing it on purpose, are you?"
"The best kind of victory is the one you get against insurmountable odds," you answer as you put more chips on the table. "Did you erase a few cards?"
"Nope! Try again!"
Damnit. You're both cheating, of course, but her power is so much harder to figure out than yours. It's bullshit, the entire shtick of MPR is that it can figure out people's magic, sure, you specialized in mirror match and not in analysis, but even the base version should be good enough right?
Wait.
"Did you erase the odds?" You ask. It's such a far-fetched idea, but her magic is absurdly flexible to allow something like that.
"Bweh? I- Well, not exactly, but it's close enough. Alright, keeping my word." She slides your chips back to you, a fake frown on her face. "Anyway, did you hear about that a Z.E.U.S plant got claimed by someone? It's uh... lady of something."
"Lady of circuits?"
"Yeah! That one! Apparently she just turned against D.I.Y and stole a bunch of their stuff, and now she's just... I don't know, raiding other corps for parts? Who knows what she's cooking, but there's been a loooot of casualties."
"It's weird, her dossier says she isn't magic."
"Mhh, so she's just killing for no reason then. Hey, she's kinda hot too, isn't she?" She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.
